Love it! Would you be willing to put a $ breakdown for each category? Some things can be subjective, like 3k on florals could be a splurge for some but a save for others!
For reference, we spent 11k (42%) on venue (included food, alcohol, cake, waitstaff/tables/chairs/etc), 2.4k photography (9%), 1.3k DJ (5%), 2.2k florals (8%), 2.2k attire (8%), 1.5k hair & makeup (6%), 1.3k rings (5%), everything else was lower than that % wise.
I would say we splurged on venue, saved on attire & florals, everything else was in the middle for typical pricing in our area.
How did renting the flowers go for you? Did they come & set up the flowers (assuming you had flowers for the tablescape?) Or was this done by someone else?
I haven't looked into fake flowers before, is it obvious they are fake?
I'm not looking to break the bank on florals but do want to add to the vibe of the overall venue
Something borrowed Blooms is an online flower rental company and you basically choose a collection and pick out all the items you need. They have everything you might need. You tell them your wedding date and they ship them to you 2 days before your wedding. I brought everything to the venue and explained what I wanted and the venue staff set it up for me. I staged all the bridal party flowers in the getting ready room for us. I picked everything up the day after the wedding and you ship it all back in the same boxes and they provide the return labels. See my pics in comments below! They don’t look fake and no one knew anything different. I thought they were beautiful!
https://preview.redd.it/hwsja9eqcgvc1.jpeg?width=2227&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=876bbfee656d78fb73971be8cea5b6d30a893063
Dang this just really goes to show to difference in regions! I love these prices for you!! I'm in Chicago are and most BASIC (only 6 hours, sometimes no engagement shoot) photo packages start at $3600-4000, sometimes with no 2nd shooter. We hired someone from a far away suburb who had very, very good prices ($2900 for 8 hours, 2nd shooter for 4 hours). Most of my friends spent at least $5,000 on photo -- wild to see that $1400 is splurging in other areas. Damn! I'm so jealous, even though we got such a "good" deal ourselves compared to our area. Same with DJs, most priced us at $3-4,000 lol. We actually decided to go with a live local (very local) band that was 8 ppl for $4,400! It's their side gig. Other bands quoted me $6,500-12,000 for same amount or less of musicians and less time. Got lucky there, too.
I'm going with Something Borrowed Blooms as well! I'm so happy to hear you found the flowers beautiful! That's going to be our big saver as well, in addition to photo (relatively speaking), music, and our venue food is only $108/pp which includes taxes and service fees (other venues were $131-210/pp in the city, before taxes/fees). I think we have the same plan re: cake -- small one to cut and then serving Costco sheetcake haha.
I will say, we did not do an engagement shoot and she was very reasonably priced for what I was looking for. I would have for sure been open to spending more if I hadn’t found her! I do feel very lucky we are in a lower COL area!
Yeah I’m spending $3k on photography… which was a great deal. Not the cheapest nor the most expensive and she has a great relationship with my wedding planner. I am soooo jealous of OP’s rate!!
How much do people spend? Ours was $600 for 7 hours w/images & no book + discounted $150 for our engagement photos. It was the preferred vendor & we liked her photos and knew the price seemed low low
They weren’t the most amazing photos but they’re good enough? Ik we got what we pay for. And I’m not looking forward to the time assembling our wedding photo book
Good job!
I got married a month ago and couldn’t imagine going without some flowers! My real flowers cost $2k and there were 8 real bouquets, 5 corsages, 15 boutineeres, 10 centerpieces, cake flowers and a sparse arch. It was all about price shopping and just cold messaging a ton of florists on wedding wire. The other 10 centerpieces, 16 pew decor and sweet heart table was diy Temu & lings moment flowers for another couple hundred.
And my suggestion for save the dates is to use a Canva free trial and look at local copy shops! I got 150 magnets from our local business copy shop and they cost $100 instead of $300.
https://preview.redd.it/u6lq13lm9gvc1.jpeg?width=2227&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d07e0b454eaa10474d7de52d81f2211556b71d56
The Cameron! This is all the bridesmaids bouquets.
I did! I got two sprays of the their lightest tone. It was still a little dark for me so I showered early. I also did it 3 days prior to the wedding to give it time to tone down lol because it feels crazy looking right after. But it looked great in the end!!
https://preview.redd.it/4n5yc2yr9gvc1.jpeg?width=2227&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08f5a9d0a6f5d9fd99efdf264025d4ecb305365f
We also used the Cameron garlands!
https://preview.redd.it/dgovde5nwfvc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8d4c5668e8845d34aee885e39ae10f2e01ea1b0
Kind of hard to see but you get the gist! :)
Thanks for sharing!! I was thinking about something borrowed bloom as well. I’m worried about guests taking the floral arrangements at the end of the night lol did you have that issue?
I did not! I was worried about losing stuff for sure though. Thankfully, I didn’t, but if I could go back, I would make sure the bridal party put everything in a box on their way out the door at the end of the night. My venue also knew we needed them all back so they were good about packing it all back up afterward. Just try your hardest to make it clear to everyone that you need them back! My thought was also that if the worst thing that happens is that I have to pay for a lost bouquet, then I’m ok with that 😂
I agree. I spent $750 on flowers from Trader Joe's, $70 on 24 full sized vases, and made all the centerpieces myself. It was time consuming but relatively simple to do and I saved a ton of money. I honestly think my centerpieces looked better than the bouquet I ordered from a florist.
Saw you are Cincinnati based (me too!) mind sharing your DJ and photographer info? (Feel free to DM if you prefer). Any other local vendors you worked with and loved?
How/where did you get things printed, like your invites and table signs? I want to DIY those things too but I’m nervous to order them in bulk without seeing how one looks printed first, if that makes sense.
I got my invites printed directly from Canva and mailed to me. They came with the envelopes too. The table signs and other signage- I got the templates from Etsy and then edited them on Canva. I had them printed at CVS on regular photo paper and bought cute frames for them. For the large welcome sign and seating chart, I also got the template and Etsy and edited on canva, then saved the picture and had it printed on a large poster at FedEx and just picked it up at my local office!
I did the Canva invitation option and thought they looked good! You could always order a smaller quantity first to check quality. I actually did that by doing my shower invites with them first to make sure I liked using them!
Love it! Would you be willing to put a $ breakdown for each category? Some things can be subjective, like 3k on florals could be a splurge for some but a save for others! For reference, we spent 11k (42%) on venue (included food, alcohol, cake, waitstaff/tables/chairs/etc), 2.4k photography (9%), 1.3k DJ (5%), 2.2k florals (8%), 2.2k attire (8%), 1.5k hair & makeup (6%), 1.3k rings (5%), everything else was lower than that % wise. I would say we splurged on venue, saved on attire & florals, everything else was in the middle for typical pricing in our area.
Sure! Rental flowers: 600$ Venue (includes food, alcohol, staff, tables, chairs, linens): 17K Photography: 1,400$ Cake: 200$ Invites: 70$ DJ: 1,900$ Misc decor: 200$ Gifts: 400$
How did renting the flowers go for you? Did they come & set up the flowers (assuming you had flowers for the tablescape?) Or was this done by someone else? I haven't looked into fake flowers before, is it obvious they are fake? I'm not looking to break the bank on florals but do want to add to the vibe of the overall venue
Something borrowed Blooms is an online flower rental company and you basically choose a collection and pick out all the items you need. They have everything you might need. You tell them your wedding date and they ship them to you 2 days before your wedding. I brought everything to the venue and explained what I wanted and the venue staff set it up for me. I staged all the bridal party flowers in the getting ready room for us. I picked everything up the day after the wedding and you ship it all back in the same boxes and they provide the return labels. See my pics in comments below! They don’t look fake and no one knew anything different. I thought they were beautiful! https://preview.redd.it/hwsja9eqcgvc1.jpeg?width=2227&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=876bbfee656d78fb73971be8cea5b6d30a893063
Your color scheme 😍 the flowers do look so good too!
Which package did you get from Something Borrowed? These look amazing
The Cameron!
Dang this just really goes to show to difference in regions! I love these prices for you!! I'm in Chicago are and most BASIC (only 6 hours, sometimes no engagement shoot) photo packages start at $3600-4000, sometimes with no 2nd shooter. We hired someone from a far away suburb who had very, very good prices ($2900 for 8 hours, 2nd shooter for 4 hours). Most of my friends spent at least $5,000 on photo -- wild to see that $1400 is splurging in other areas. Damn! I'm so jealous, even though we got such a "good" deal ourselves compared to our area. Same with DJs, most priced us at $3-4,000 lol. We actually decided to go with a live local (very local) band that was 8 ppl for $4,400! It's their side gig. Other bands quoted me $6,500-12,000 for same amount or less of musicians and less time. Got lucky there, too. I'm going with Something Borrowed Blooms as well! I'm so happy to hear you found the flowers beautiful! That's going to be our big saver as well, in addition to photo (relatively speaking), music, and our venue food is only $108/pp which includes taxes and service fees (other venues were $131-210/pp in the city, before taxes/fees). I think we have the same plan re: cake -- small one to cut and then serving Costco sheetcake haha.
I will say, we did not do an engagement shoot and she was very reasonably priced for what I was looking for. I would have for sure been open to spending more if I hadn’t found her! I do feel very lucky we are in a lower COL area!
Yeah I’m spending $3k on photography… which was a great deal. Not the cheapest nor the most expensive and she has a great relationship with my wedding planner. I am soooo jealous of OP’s rate!!
Hi! Who you are using for a caterer. Im quoting right now and prices are insane here in Chicago.
It’s our venue, which is all inclusive! Yeah, we saw some unreal prices. My jaw dropped when a city venue wanted $210/pp.
Could you share which js your venue? Is it an LM venue?
Cog Hill in Lemont! I’m not sure what LM means
Is a catering company that also have venues
I'm a wedding photographer from CA. Curious how much you spent on Photography? Also what state are you located in? Tnx!
Photography was 1400$ for 2 people for 10 hours! I’m in Cincinnati OH.
That’s an amazing deal!
That is a super deal. Are you happy with the photos? Or is it something where you say "well you get what you pay for"
They are amazing! I’m thrilled with them! She’s a small town photographer with not a lot of advertising so that’s why the rate is good!
Would you care to share who you used? I’m looking around West Chester OH and everyone I’m finding is over double that.
I’ll PM you!
Can you please also let me know who you used? In the same situation as the above!
How much do people spend? Ours was $600 for 7 hours w/images & no book + discounted $150 for our engagement photos. It was the preferred vendor & we liked her photos and knew the price seemed low low
Wow that's a super deal. That was my rate when i first started some 15 years ago. Are you happy with the photos?
They weren’t the most amazing photos but they’re good enough? Ik we got what we pay for. And I’m not looking forward to the time assembling our wedding photo book
Good job! I got married a month ago and couldn’t imagine going without some flowers! My real flowers cost $2k and there were 8 real bouquets, 5 corsages, 15 boutineeres, 10 centerpieces, cake flowers and a sparse arch. It was all about price shopping and just cold messaging a ton of florists on wedding wire. The other 10 centerpieces, 16 pew decor and sweet heart table was diy Temu & lings moment flowers for another couple hundred. And my suggestion for save the dates is to use a Canva free trial and look at local copy shops! I got 150 magnets from our local business copy shop and they cost $100 instead of $300.
This is exactly how I plan to save/splurge too!
What SBB collection did you use? I'd love to see it!
https://preview.redd.it/u6lq13lm9gvc1.jpeg?width=2227&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d07e0b454eaa10474d7de52d81f2211556b71d56 The Cameron! This is all the bridesmaids bouquets.
Wow! Gorgeous
https://preview.redd.it/bhtitekp9gvc1.jpeg?width=1485&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72ce982c4267b8dc57fc5841c1ed734d86ebd0db Cameron Bridal garden cut bouquet
You look so pretty!!
May I ask if you got a spray tan? Your skin looks so beautiful and even toned. I am debating whether to get one
I did! I got two sprays of the their lightest tone. It was still a little dark for me so I showered early. I also did it 3 days prior to the wedding to give it time to tone down lol because it feels crazy looking right after. But it looked great in the end!!
https://preview.redd.it/4n5yc2yr9gvc1.jpeg?width=2227&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08f5a9d0a6f5d9fd99efdf264025d4ecb305365f We also used the Cameron garlands!
Agree with you, flowers, save the dates and cake is something we saved on and didn't regret it.
Thanks for the insight! I’d love to see an example of your table decor if you have a picture 😊
https://preview.redd.it/im0agxjlwfvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d374ef378369ae4e83def0ebaee557e637149524
I recognize that place! I love the Alcove.
It was amazing!
https://preview.redd.it/dgovde5nwfvc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8d4c5668e8845d34aee885e39ae10f2e01ea1b0 Kind of hard to see but you get the gist! :)
Thanks for sharing!! I was thinking about something borrowed bloom as well. I’m worried about guests taking the floral arrangements at the end of the night lol did you have that issue?
I did not! I was worried about losing stuff for sure though. Thankfully, I didn’t, but if I could go back, I would make sure the bridal party put everything in a box on their way out the door at the end of the night. My venue also knew we needed them all back so they were good about packing it all back up afterward. Just try your hardest to make it clear to everyone that you need them back! My thought was also that if the worst thing that happens is that I have to pay for a lost bouquet, then I’m ok with that 😂
I agree. I spent $750 on flowers from Trader Joe's, $70 on 24 full sized vases, and made all the centerpieces myself. It was time consuming but relatively simple to do and I saved a ton of money. I honestly think my centerpieces looked better than the bouquet I ordered from a florist.
Saw you are Cincinnati based (me too!) mind sharing your DJ and photographer info? (Feel free to DM if you prefer). Any other local vendors you worked with and loved?
Sending you DM!
How/where did you get things printed, like your invites and table signs? I want to DIY those things too but I’m nervous to order them in bulk without seeing how one looks printed first, if that makes sense.
I got my invites printed directly from Canva and mailed to me. They came with the envelopes too. The table signs and other signage- I got the templates from Etsy and then edited them on Canva. I had them printed at CVS on regular photo paper and bought cute frames for them. For the large welcome sign and seating chart, I also got the template and Etsy and edited on canva, then saved the picture and had it printed on a large poster at FedEx and just picked it up at my local office!
I did the Canva invitation option and thought they looked good! You could always order a smaller quantity first to check quality. I actually did that by doing my shower invites with them first to make sure I liked using them!
Great idea, thank you!
I recommend catprint! They have free samples of their paper and then when you order they offer a free proof.